- A
- unified
- framework
- for
- analyzing
- urban
- sustainability
- in
- terms
- of
- cities'
- inflows
- and
- outflows
- of
- matter
- and
- energy.Urbanization
- and
- globalization
- have
- shaped
- the
- last
- hundred
- years.
- These
- two
- dominant
- trends
- are
- mutually
- reinforcing:
- globalization
- links
- countries
- through
- the
- networked
- communications
- of
- urban
- hubs.
- The
- urban
- population
- now
- generates
- more
- than
- eighty
- percent
- of
- global
- GDP.
- Cities
- account
- for
- enormous
- flows
- of
- energy
- and
- materials—inflows
- of
- goods
- and
- services
- and
- outflows
- of
- waste.
- Thus
- urban
- environmental
- management
- critically
- affects
- global
- sustainability.
- In
- this
- book,
- Paulo
- Ferrão
- and
- John
- Fernández
- offer
- a
- metabolic
- perspective
- on
- urban
- sustainability,
- viewing
- the
- city
- as
- a
- metabolism,
- in
- terms
- of
- its
- exchanges
- of
- matter
- and
- energy.
- Their
- book
- provides
- a
- roadmap
- to
- the
- strategies
- and
- tools
- needed
- for
- a
- scientifically
- based
- framework
- for
- analyzing
- and
- promoting
- the
- sustainability
- of
- urban
- systems.Using
- the
- concept
- of
- urban
- metabolism
- as
- a
- unifying
- framework,
- Ferrão
- and
- Fernandez
- describe
- a
- systems-oriented
- approach
- that
- establishes
- useful
- linkages
- among
- environmental,
- economic,
- social,
- and
- technical
- infrastructure
- issues.
- These
- linkages
- lead
- to
- an
- integrated
- information-intensive
- platform
- that
- enables
- ecologically
- informed
- urban
- planning.
- After
- establishing
- the
- theoretical
- background
- and
- describing
- the
- diversity
- of
- contributing
- disciplines,
- the
- authors
- sample
- sustainability
- approaches
- and
- tools,
- offer
- an
- extended
- study
- of
- the
- urban
- metabolism
- of
- Lisbon,
- and
- outline
- the
- challenges
- and
- opportunities
- in
- approaching
- urban
- sustainability
- in
- both
- developed
- and
- developing countries.
